TWO years ago residents of Greenwood Park initiated a project to start a community garden bed in the hopes of instilling civic pride in the area.

The community garden bed, situated near the railway bridge on Mimosa Road, has a number of indigenous vibrant plants arranged in a way to welcome residents into the area.

While the project has waned in recent months there is a new spark thanks to the input of the Greenwood Park CPF Sub-Forum 2 and leaders among the community.

Among those are Farrah Shaik and Darrien Lorton, as well as the eThekwini Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.

Also read: Crusaders Running Club donation to help fund green-fingered project

Shaik said the idea behind the garden was to help beautify and inspire similar projects throughout the area.

“In 2023 we identified this particular patch of land for the garden because Mimosa Road is the main entrance to Greenwood Park. In the past there was just a lot of litter strewn across this bank, hence we started the project. It is important to say this is a resident-driven initiative we hope will brighten up our area. We’ve regenerated in time for spring and the success of the recent Crime Awareness Day hosted by the Greenwood Park CPF really gave us the impetus to start anew.

“The CPF’s Sub-Forum 2 hope to put up a sign here next to the garden bed. In part this project takes into account the broken windows theory, which says that visible signs of littering, broken windows or graffiti, can signal neglect and can lead to residents feeling unsafe. Thankfully we have the assistance of Christopher Ramsundar who will be working on the upkeep of the garden bed for the time being. The idea is to get other residents involved who may want to volunteer themselves or have their gardeners work on the project for a day a week,” she said.

Shaik also thanked the municipality’s Durban North Parks department depot for their help with plant donations.

“Thobile Sibisi, a horticulturalist based at Durban North Parks Department, donated plants from their nursery to the cause. We went with her to pick them out and she chose plants that she felt would work and even suggested a design for us to follow. We are hoping for a positive response from the community because when we started this project we found people were quite protective of the garden bed and we hope to rebuild that momentum to make this project a success,” she said.

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